Friends Asking Friends Forgotten Children EMERGENCY APPEAL
o Last year CASA of Peoria County volunteers spent in excess of 1500 hours assisting children. Using $110/hour that a court appointed Guardian Ad Litem might bill the court generates a revenue savings equivalent of $165,000 to Peoria County.
o Average cost for a child each month placed outside of the family home is $5,488. CASA involvement reduces the time a child spends in foster care by an average of 8 months saving taxpayers $43,911per child.
o Peoria County is third highest in the state for children in foster care. CASA of Peoria County has a waiting list of volunteers ready to advocate but no funding to train and supervise additional volunteers. The need is great!
o Children assigned a CASA volunteer are 50% less likely to reenter the foster care system. Cases with CASA involvement are more likely to achieve a permanent home for the child
CASA of Peoria County is funded by grants and contributions from individuals and organizations. The economic downturn has both increased the need for CASA of Peoria County's services and drastically affected our traditional sources of funding; so much so that our very existence is at stake.
As the economy tumbles to record depths, you can make a sure-fire investment in our most valuable resource: our kids. Please consider sending a financial gift in support to CASA of Peoria County today.
Every day, 850 kids enter the foster care system in the US because they cannot live safely at home. That’s enough kids to fill two elementary schools or 425 camp bunks. Enough kids to field 70 soccer teams.
As a CASA volunteer or supporter, you understand the vital role CASA volunteers play in the lives of our nation’s most vulnerable abused and neglected kids. Last year, 60,000 CASA volunteers served 240,000 kids through 954 local programs nationwide. But with 500,000 children living in foster care, there simply aren’t enough CASA volunteers to go around.
By joining the Forgotten Children Campaign, you can help close the gap by raising money to put a trained, committed advocate into the life of a local child who needs a safe, permanent home.
